How Temporal Framing of Expiration Information Influences Consumer Preferences for Near‐Expiry Food?

ABSTRACT Improving consumer acceptance of near‐expiry food has become increasingly important in the context of food waste reduction and retail management. Prior research on near‐expiry food has mainly focused on the substantive meaning of expiration labels, with less attention to how expiration time is temporally framed and how such framing shapes consumer decision processes. This research examines how two alternative frames of expiration time, the date frame and the delay frame, influence consumer preferences for near‐expiry food. Across three experiments using purchase tasks, information‐viewing measures, and mouse‐tracking, the findings show that the date frame increases consumer acceptance of near‐expiry food relative to the delay frame, although this effect weakens under high‐discount conditions. Experiment 2 provides discrete process evidence by showing that temporal framing affects attention allocation to expiration time and price, which in turn shapes perceived remaining time and purchase choice of near‐expiry food. Experiment 3 provides continuous process evidence by showing that under the date frame, price enters the decision process earlier than expiration time, whereas under the delay frame no significant difference is observed in the onset timing of the two attributes. Together, these findings extend research on temporal framing in short‐horizon consumer decisions and provide practical insight into how the presentation of expiration time can be used to improve consumer preferences for near‐expiry food and reduce food waste.